Deadly gunfight after robbery coincides with beefed-up patrols

Saturday

Oct 26, 2013 at 2:31 AMOct 26, 2013 at 12:21 PM

Law enforcement officers were nearby when the Pizza Hut on 17th Street was robbed.

By Jason GonzalesJason.Gonzales@StarNewsOnline.com

Two men were fatally shot and one was injured late Friday night in a gunbattle with law enforcement officers following a robbery at the Pizza Hut on South 17th Street in Wilmington.It was the fourth robbery or attempted robbery of a local Pizza Hut within the past two months. The violence came the same day a special group of plainclothes officers from the Wilmington Police Department and New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office began pairing up to focus on robbery suppression and crime in public housing communities, following a recent spike in armed robberies and gang-related violence. On Friday night, law enforcement officers focusing on surveillance of local restaurants were near the Pizza Hut and confronted the three men as they emerged from the building.“We have had a rash of robberies, and we have put a lot of focus on monitoring businesses,” said Wilmington police spokeswoman Linda Rawley. The three men had approached an employee outside the Pizza Hut about 11:45 p.m., forced the employee back into the restaurant at gunpoint and robbed those inside, Rawley said. The restaurant was open at the time. Rawley could not say exactly how officers became aware of the robbery, but when the three suspects exited the building, they were met by police. When they refused to obey police commands, gunfire was exchanged and all three suspects were injured, Rawley said.Ronald Roland, 18, and Tevin Robinson, 20, were taken to New Hanover Regional Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead several hours later. Jalani Lamar Smith, 20, who was treated at New Hanover Regional and released, is being held in the New Hanover County jail with bail set at $1.5 million. Smith has been charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery, as well as multiple armed robbery charges, and four counts of first-degree kidnapping. His first appearance in court is scheduled for Monday. No officers were injured in the exchange of fire.None of the suspects have criminal records, according to a search of the N.C. Department of Correction.All three attended North Brunswick High School and played sports there. In March 2012, Roland was a StarNews Media player of the week nominee for track and field. He was the father of two children, according to his Facebook page. Smith had attended N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro, according to his Facebook page.Police believe the men might be tied to multiple business robberies in Brunswick and New Hanover counties, Rawley said.The Wilmington Police Department would not release the names of the officers or how many officers were involved in the shooting. All are on administrative leave with pay, according to Rawley. The State Bureau of Investigation was on the scene early Saturday morning to investigate, she said, standard procedure in officer-involved shootings. Rawley said she could not release any more details on the incident. A spokeswoman for the SBI did not return phone calls on Saturday.On Sept. 9, a Pizza Hut in Leland was robbed after a man forced the night manager back into the store as she was leaving for the night. On Sept. 17, the Pizza Hut on Oleander Drive in Wilmington was robbed by two men while a third man waited outside the restaurant. On Oct. 22, employees at the Pizza Hut on Oleander foiled a robbery when they ran back inside the building after spotting an armed man running toward them in the parking lot. Employees of businesses near the Pizza Hut on 17th Street said Saturday that the shooting has put them on alert. An employee of PT’s Olde Fashioned Grille, which is adjacent to Pizza Hut, said they are taking extra precautions at closing time. An employee at the Kangaroo Express across the street said he could not speak about the shooting.Andrew Neylon, a bartender at nearby Tinyz Tavern, said the bar has been taking extra precautions since the recent rise in gang violence by having customers leave in pairs. The bar’s patio faces Pizza Hut, but he said no one saw or heard the shooting because cold temperatures kept customers indoors.“We’re a neighborhood joint, so we are concerned, but not overly,” Neylon said. “Everyone watches out for each other.”Friday night’s shooting was the second law-enforcement-involved shooting in the past month in which a suspect has been killed.On Oct. 13, Brandon Devone Smith, 30, was shot and killed following a car chase and a foot pursuit that ended in a wooded Wrightsboro area. He was accused of shooting and injuring a law enforcement official three days earlier.That investigation also is being handled by the SBI and is ongoing.A day after Smith was killed, WPD Chief Ralph Evangelous, along with New Hanover County Sheriff Ed McMahon, announced plans for a 64-officer joint task force. Minutes after the 4 p.m. news conference, the almost daily gun violence erupted again. Shots rang out at 12th and Dawson streets shortly before 5 p.m. Later Monday, at 8:45 p.m., a 20-year-old man was reported shot and wounded in the 600 block of Eighth Street, police said.On Oct. 15, the Wilmington City Council unanimously approved spending $142,381 to allow the police department to create an investigative unit and maintain full staffing. The unit would gather information, disseminate intelligence on gangs and combat gang activities, according to documents prepared for the council. The unit would have one sergeant and four officers. In addition, the sheriff’s office will add seven deputies to the WPD’s seven-officer unit that patrols public housing complexes.“That’s how big this presence needs to be for us to have an impact on this,” said Evangelous, who appeared before the council to ask for approval for the funding to allow the new gang unit.